𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐎 𝐌. 𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒

worthy of you

CTTO: dos-oroguitas

Part 3 of Wait for you, fight for you

The next few days were a blur to both you and Camilo. The town's lively chatter of your return hadn't ceased for the whole week. Everyone was still excited from your return as well as the mysterious handsome boy that you've brought along with you.

The girls and boys your age were all filled with envy when Camilo had often asked you out to explore Encanto with him all over again. Though he could also detect a sense of longing in their eyes which made him groan in frustration. Really? He had the whole town as his rival apart from the Del Pilar guy?

He tried not to sigh deeply as he pursed his lips, unable to think about anything but you. Not even seconds could help him take off the heaviness that threatened to weigh him down.

"Camilo? Estás bien?" Your voice suddenly jolted him out of his thoughts and he struggled to find the words. What was he doing again? Oh right. He had invited you for a picnic of sorts and here you were perched on the fountain of the town square.

"Estoy bien, bonita." Came his flustered response upon seeing you tilt you head to the side, doe eyes gazing right up at him. Miercoles, he thought to himself, how are you this adorable? He found himself staring as he ate one of his tia's arepas.

"Oh right, I forgot!" Camilo watched as you rummaged through your mochila that Mirabel had gifted you. Strangely enough, it had the colors of his ruana as well as a little emroidered chameleon on its' side. You then pull out a familiar stuffed toy and he swore his heart soared. Like he had done with the ruana you gave him, you had kept the stuffed chameleon he had given you all those years ago.

"Amarillo has certainly seen better days." You smile up at him sheepishly. The stuffed toy had clashing colored threads, probably from the amount of times you've repaired him in the span of eight years. "But I love him nonetheless."

Oh how he wished he was Amarillo instead as you hugged the precious stuffed chameleon close, smiling so fondly at the toy he and his mother had painstakingly worked on during your last days in Encanto.

It took him years. Years to finally convince himself that he didn't like you in a way that his family insisted that he did. You were just (Name) his childhood friend. (Name) who was just someone he missed someone. (Name) who he waited patiently for 8 years, never looking at anyone else.

And then you were (Name). You were his (Name). And he knew deep down that he loved you. That he did like you in a way his familia insisted he did. He loved you.

What they said was true. Absence does makes the heart grow fonder.

His eyes softened as he gazed at you, noticing how the setting sun's rays caressed your face. He chanced upon the moment the orange glow from the sun crowned you with a halo. And you took both his breath and his heart with you without even doing anything.

You caught his gaze, face instantly warming up at how he looked at you with eyes that held nothing but love, warmth, and yearning. For a moment you were frozen as he gently reached out to cup your cheek in his warm palm before you smile, leaning against it whilst you looked at him with just as much love.

"Camilo?" You breathed out, voice barely a whisper.

He smiled fondly, eyes flickering briefly to your lips, letting himself steal just a few more seconds of holding you like this before he gently pinched your nose and laughed. He tried to play it cool, play it suave like he always had but as he pulled his hand away, he gently clenched it by his side, trying to remember the way your skin felt against his palm even as he had just touched it a few seconds ago.

He raised the same hand to his lips, acting as if he was just covering his mouth as he laughed at you but grazed his lips against his palm where he had touched your cheek, his freckled cheeks bursting into a heated fluster.

Camilo averted his gaze.

"Ay, bonita, you don't know what you do to me."

He knew he had an opportunity there and then to confess to you. To ask you to be his and his only forever. And he would've until he heard your name being called out by a familiar voice, one that he despised oh so dearly.

Andres Del Pilar strided towards the both of you, an unreadable expression on his handsome features.

"(Name), mi princesa, your papá has asked me to escort you home." He stood tall, waiting for you who had looked at Camilo with a bashful smile, the warmth on your face never leaving.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Camilo?" You offer as you gently pat your dress to remove any crease and nonexistent dirt.

"Si, tomorrow, mi reina." He stammered, clambering onto his feet. Camilo could see how your offer had made Andres' eyes narrow and he clicked his tongue in distaste. Even more so when he had swiftly added his petname for you.

You think he's gonna let Andres call you princess? Well, you're his queen. It was insignificant, maybe even petty but he had liked seeing the ticked off face of that pompous jerk.

Sensing the tenseness between both boys, particularly Andres' sharp look at Camilo, you frown. You weren't particularly aware of what the two boys were feuding about, blissfully unaware of the pair's vying for your heart.

As you walked away after giving him one last smile, Andres had stayed in place, letting you go ahead a little ways away before he turned to the shapeshifter with a smile. It wasn't a friendly one. It was strained, never quite meeting his eyes.

"You just don't know when to quit, do you?" His tone was steady and unnervingly calm. "Qué Gueva," He laughed, throwing his head back with a cackle.

"You really think you stand a chance? You really think she wants a nobody that can just shapeshift?" Andres stood tall as he approached Camilo who rather than back down, stood tall as well with his head up high. "You're nothing without your powers, Madrigal. Let's face it. Without your stupid miracle, nobody, I mean nobody, would give you the time of day."

"She doesn't want you. She'd never want you." He hissed under his breath, his calm and formal facade breaking for a moment. "You and your family are all just a bunch of freaks-"

Andres finds himself lifted by the collar of his shirt, fistfuls of the fabric of his clothing bunched into Camilo's hands. He wanted to swing. He wanted to knock Andres to the ground.

"Watch yourself, bastardo." His hands shook as he held a wide-eyed Andres who grasped onto Camilo's wrist. "I can take any insult but if you dare say a word about mi familia.." He trails off, letting his threat hang.

Andres choked at the tightness of his hold, his eyes narrowing before he roughly pushed the boy away. He wanted to say something but his bruised ego had made him scoff, straightening out his shirt as he quickly fled, muttering something under his breath.

He didn't know how long he had stood there, eyes still locked onto the direction that you had walked off in. Camilo pursed his lips, shoving his hands in his pockets with a frustrated sigh.

Camilo knew better than to let words affect him but Andres' words rang in his mind.

"What if he's right?" He asked outloud to himself in the now desolate streets. "I can't offer her anything like Andres can. I'm.. I'm nothing without my miracle.." His voice trembled as he furrowed his brows, his insecurities coming to fruition as he grit his teeth. Just who was Camilo Madrigal without the miracle? And could that Camilo compete with someone like Andres?

He could feel his heart hammering against his chest and his eyes watered as he took in deep but painful breaths. His vision was blurred with tears as he leaned against the fountain that the both of you had sat on.

A heavy weight upon his shoulders. A heavy thought played in his mind. A heavy question was left unanswered as he looked to the starry sky.

Was he worthy of you?